Breathe Through This
  • Recent Posts
  • Meet the Author
  • Reflect

Childhood Eyes 

8/23/2013

 

Have you ever wondered what that little indentation above your lip is called?   That space between your lip and your nose is called a philtrum.  According to the Jewish Talmud, an angel is sent by God to each womb to teach the baby "the entire Torah."  Sadly, just before the baby is born, the angel returns and touches the baby between the upper lip and the nose and all that was learned, is now mysteriously forgotten; the philtrum is the mark left by the angel "shushing" the baby to cause her to forget her holy knowledge.  

I love this concept so much more than the tabula rasa, or blank slate, proposed by the ancient Greeks and still widely subscribed to today.  I know so many people my age who are still struggling with figuring out who they are and what their true path in life is.  As I embark on my own path of self-discovery, I’m comforted by this Jewish mythology in that it reminds me that what I’m “searching” for does not lie in a far away land, is not contained in some academic or theological tome, but rather lies inside me to be “rediscovered”.  It’s as though we are all nascent  flowers, and our inner beauty is gradually exposed as we open and lean toward the light.  

We all can agree that children are so adept at picking up a new language or adapting to the latest technology.   When I contrast the way I interact with my environment and the way a young child does, I quickly realize that I lack the wonder, the joy, and the humor that children operate from.  I can see how life has “hardened” me and how cynicism, rather than wonder, has become my default mentality.  I just read the other day that babies are born with around 10,000 taste buds, far more than adults.  Unlike adults', babies' taste buds are not just on the tongue, but also on the sides, back, and roof of the mouth.  Eventually these extra taste buds numb and disappear.  To me, that’s a perfect analogy of what I feel in so many facets of my life.  I need to remind myself to slow down and be present so that I can intently hear what you have to say, feel joyous in my skin, taste and smell all that is beautiful, and most importantly, look at the world with wonder as through a child’s eyes.    

Let me give the last word to Shakespeare when in Julius Caesar,  Cassius contends that it is we humans, not the stars, who control our destiny.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."


Deb Maybury link
8/23/2013 12:00:02 pm

We are beings of choice..you have decided to fill your thoughts with positive things-it has been wonderful to watch. Keep writing...


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    August 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

email the author:  runjprun@gmail.com
Photo used under Creative Commons from (vincent desjardins)
  • Recent Posts
  • Meet the Author
  • Reflect